ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Seattle SuperSonics tool control in the
second quarter and never looked back.

Ruben Patterson scored all of his 15 points in the second
quarter as the SuperSonics snapped a season-high four-game
losing streak with a 95-86 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

The night was an historic one for Sonics center Patrick Ewing,
who became the 13th player in NBA history to score 24,000 career
points. He accomplished the feat with a 15-footer with 6:43
left in the second quarter.

"It felt good. I've accomplished a lot in this league in order
to reach 24,000, but my main goal is to win a championship,"
said Ewing, who is in his 15th season.

Brent Barry had six points and Patterson four in a 13-0 run to
start the second period that gave the Sonics a 39-20 advantage.
They led the rest of the way.

"We played great basketball in the first half. That's what this
team is capable of," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. "It was a
wonderful first half. Then we took a step back and it was a
fight. We just relaxed in the third quarter and you can't do
that. Overall, we needed a `W' bad."

Gary Payton and Shammond Williams each added 16 points for the
Sonics, who returned to the .500 mark at 18-18.

Jason Terry scored 27 points and Roshown McLeod 17 for Atlanta,
which is 8-6 since a 4-16 start.

After opening a six-point lead after the first quarter, the
Sonics began to pull away in the second. Atlanta opened the
period by missing its first six shots and the Sonics took full
advantage, reeling off the first 13 points.

Barry made a jumper and Patterson a layup, triggering the run.
Barry capped the spurt with a 20-footer that opened a 39-20
advantage with 8:39 left before halftime.

Patterson played the entire second quarter, making 6-of-8 shots.
He missed his only other two attempts and finished with eight
rebounds.

Led by Patterson, the Sonics reserves outscored the Atlanta
bench by a lopsided 42-20 margin.

"I just came out with a lot of energy," Patterson said. "I got
to the basket and rebounded. That's what we need."

Williams made a pair of free throws with 4:25 left before
halftime, giving Seattle its largest lead at 52-30. The Sonics
held a 61-43 advantage at the break.

Rashard Lewis added 15 points for Seattle, which shot 41 percent
(33-of-81). Vin Baker led the effort on the boards with 13
rebounds.

The Sonics went cold from the field in the third quarter,
allowing Atlanta to get back in it. The Hawks used a 19-7 run,
capped by a free throw by Terry that cut the deficit to 68-62
with 3:09 left in the period.

Seattle made just 4-of-23 shots in the quarter but still took a
72-65 advantage into the final period. The Hawks got no closer
than six points thereafter.

"Obviously, two different halves. Their half was definitely
better than ours," Atlanta coach Lon Kruger said. "Their
energry, their activity, that really set a tone in the first
half. They were much quicker and much more active than us.
Obviously, a big hole at halftime. It was a good response by
our guys, but we couldn't get back over the hump."

"I think we definitely have to credit Seattle," Terry said.
"Our energy level just wasn't there tonight. I thought we were
still in it. We beat ourselves tonight. You can't spot a team
in this league 20 points at any time. Regardless of that, we
came back and fought hard."